Essentially Liberty and Temporary Safety -- by Erec Stebbins

"Uniting and Strengthening America by
Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of
2001" is the official name of the USA PATRIOT ACT, or simply Patriot
Act. This was the first in a series of laws in response to the attacks of 9/11
that sought to enhance the security of the United States in the face of
increased threats from international and domestic terrorism. In seeking to
increase security, there was a necessary sacrifice of freedoms and liberties,
and it is this trade-off that has been at the heart of the vociferous debate
about this bill, and related (and even more extreme) laws that have been passed
subsequently.

"Live
Free or Die" might be a romantic mantra (and the motto of the State of New
Hampshire) but Congress, and judging from polls and the lack of concerted
protest to these laws, most Americans, would rather live and give up some
"unalienable" rights to secure their safety. With the Patriot Act,
and its subsequent renewals and amendments, US law enforcement and government
agencies gained sweeping new powers over Americans and their lives and
information.

Discussions
of these new powers are numerous, and I will not reiterate them here. The main
point is not the use of such powers to identify and stop "the bad
guys." The dangers of giving
government, law enforcement, and the military such power is the possibility,
and, given the historical record, near certainty, that these powers will be
abused and used against law abiding citizens to control them. That is why
the US Constitution instigated a separation of powers, produced a Bill of
Rights, and many of the founders were frankly paranoid about any power handed
to governments.

The
Patriot Act was the first stone tossed in an avalanche of security laws that
have already led to abuses, been challenged as unconstitutional, and which,
many argue, are antithetical to the ethos and founding philosophy of the
nation.

Habeas corpus

This
ancient term (dating back in English common law to at least 1305), from the
Latin for "you may have your body",
is a legal action through which a prisoner/detainee can be released from
"unlawful" detention. Typically this would mean detention/arrest that
lacks sufficient evidence/cause. It is one of the most basic of human rights,
and one of the first to go when governments become tyrannical. Throwing
"problematic" people into a dungeon is the most effective way to
silence them and remove their threat to the ruling powers, short of killing
them outright (see below for how this is now also on the American radar).

In
a nutshell, "a writ of habeas corpus"
means you can't get tossed in jail without evidence or trial or appeal for
release. Proponents of "indefinite
detention" of suspected terrorists argue that the US Constitution does
not specifically grant the right of Habeas corpus, but merely outlines the
extreme case when the Congress is permitted to restrict it. This is based on
the "Suspension Clause" of
Article I, which states that:

"The Privilege of the Writ of
Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or
Invasion the public Safety may require it."

Interestingly,
in this over 200 year-old provision, we see the very conflict of rights and
security we face today. As many have noted, the US Constitution is a "war
constitution" in many ways, written under threat of violence and
understanding the nature of rebellion. This clause essentially states that if
the nation is invaded or there is a rebellion (as in the Civil War),
Congress can throw out this right, which is essentially what it has done
in such situations, and likely would be expected to do in general under such
duress.

The
question facing us now is this: Do we
consider the threat of terrorism as "activating" this clause? Are
potential terrorists in our midsts equivalent to a "rebellion" or
"invasion"?

Some
obviously consider the answer to this "yes." Various laws, including
the Patriot Act and others, have been interpreted by many to mean that they
restrict the right of habeas corpus, and allow indefinite detention without due
process. But these laws do not expressly suspend the writ. As per Wikipedia (the October 2013 version of
the entry, anyway):

"Regardless of whether the writ is positively
guaranteed by the constitution, habeas corpus was first established by statute
in the Judiciary Act of 1789. However, in the cases of Immigration and
Naturalization Service v. St. Cyr (2001),[2] and Boumediene v. Bush (2008)[3]
the U.S. Supreme Court suggested that the Suspension Clause protects "the
writ as it existed in 1789," that is, as a writ which federal judges could
issue in the exercise of their common law authority."

One
can get into a legal quagmire with all this, but the point is that,
"indefinite detention" comes close to, or crosses the line of,
suspending the right of habeas corpus. This
means that when the government "decides" that you are a threat, you
can be "disappeared," indefinitely.

Some
progress in restoring the writ seemed to be had with the Supreme Court case
2008 case Boumediene v. Bush (7 years after 9/11 makes for long
imprisonment) where detainees were granted by the Court the right to challenge
their detention, but of course, the devil is in the details, and the detainees
seem to be practically without recourse given how hard it is to have their
cases even heard:

In
the "good old days", or even in the former Soviet Union and too many
tyrannical nation-states on the planet right now, once the King threw you in
the dungeon because he didn't like you, he could then order all sorts of
horrors to be perpetrated against your body and mind. Even for convicted
criminals, the US Constitution shows where its heart lies, banning "cruel
and unusual punishment."

Enter
indefinite detention of terror suspects - not convicted
of any crimes via anything like due process - and "enhanced
interrogation".
Whenever we use euphemisms like this, you know something shady is involved:
isolation, exposure to extreme temperatures, enclosure in tiny spaces, sleep
deprivation, bombardment with agonizing sounds at extremely damaging decibel
levels, repeated near drownings (a.k.a., "waterboarding"), religious
and sexual humiliation, etc., and these are the ones that have made
it to the light of day.

It
is hard to find any moral/ethical system, religion, or national constitution
(including the US Constitution) that would have any support for the systematic
torture of human beings: even for the nasties, tried and convicted felons. Our
laws for prisons and capital punishment seek to minimize suffering. Why become
the very things we are fighting?

"Many of my comrades were subjected
to very cruel, very inhumane and degrading treatment -- a few of them even unto
death. But every one of us, every single one of us knew and took great strength
from the belief that we were different from our enemies, that we were better
than them, that we, if the roles were reversed, would not disgrace ourselves by
committing or countenancing such mistreatment of them. That faith was
indispensable not only to our survival but to our attempts to return home with
honor. Many of the men I served with would have preferred death to such
dishonor." Senator John McCain, PBS Newshour, Oct 6, 2005

It
is particularly troubling that prisoners detained without trial, without due
process, indefinitely, hidden from the public and light of day, can also then
be subjected to torture. It is (for some) perhaps easier to dismiss it when one
allows oneself the thought that it is only happening to "bad guys."
What if innocents are involved? Does the government never make mistakes?
What if this power is abused now or in the future? The infrastructure and
culture of torture is in place: can it be adapted to the political?

Do we trust our governments with such
power?

Extraordinary Rendition

I'll
just leave here a word-for-word from the Wikipedia entry:

"Extraordinary
rendition and irregular
rendition are terms used to describe the apprehension and extrajudicial transfer of a person from
one state to another, and the term "torture by proxy" is used
by some critics to describe situations in which the U.S. has purportedly
transferred suspected terrorists to countries known to employ harsh
interrogation techniques that may rise to the level of torture."

2012 Defense Authorization Act

This
bill, signed into law by President Obama December 31, 2011, continues the
troublesome march away from basic freedoms Americans have taken for granted.
One could summarize the act as granting the federal government the right to
arrest and indefinitely detain through military powers, prisons, and courts
anyone it deemed a sufficient threat to the United States. Citizen, or non-citizen,
arrested abroad or on American soil. Without trial. By the military.

While
proponents argue that there are many restrictions and protections for
inappropriate use of this law, the point is that even laws before this that
granted far less powers to the government and military were often abused: one
has to be concerned that now legalizing snatches of citizens, their arrest and
detention without trial/due process indefinitely, all by the military outside
of normal channels of law enforcement, could potentially lead us down a very
dark path. Again, the worry is not that this power will be used to stop the
monsters that kill and destroy, but that (1) the innocent will be dragged into
the net, far more frequently than anyone will admit, and (2) the power will be
abused for political purposes by the unethical.

Defense
Authorization Act: Quotes Across the Political Spectrum

“It puts
every single American citizen at risk. We must stand up to tyranny
disguised as security.” - Senator Rand Paul, (R-KY)

"And
what we are talking about here is that Americans could be subjected to life
imprisonment without ever being charged, tried, or convicted of a crime,
without ever having an opportunity to prove their innocence to a judge or a
jury of their peers. And without the government ever having to prove their
guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. I think that denigrates the very
foundations of this country.” -Senator Al Franken, (D-Minn.)

"I
would also point out that these provisions raise serious questions as to
who we are as a society and what our Constitution seeks to protect." Senator Mark Udall, (D-Colo.)

"The
constitutional right to due process is fundamental to individual liberty, and
we must not sacrifice this right in the pursuit of perceived greater security.
Without freedom there is no security." Senator Michael Lee, (R-UT)

Perhaps
one of the most shocking corollaries derived from the host of new security laws
passed over the last decade can be summed up in the opinions put forth by Obama's Attorney General Eric
Holder in 2012: namely, that the government is legally empowered to kill US
citizens without due process. From Holder's speech to
the University of Michigan:

"Let
me be clear: an operation using lethal force in a foreign country, targeted
against a U.S. citizen who is a senior operational leader of al Qaeda or
associated forces, and who is actively engaged in planning to kill Americans,
would be lawful...'Due process' and 'judicial process' are not one and the
same, particularly when it comes to national security. The Constitution
guarantees due process, not judicial process."

"The President and his underlings are
your accuser, your judge, your jury and your executioner all wrapped up in one,
acting in total secrecy and without your even knowing that he’s accused you and
sentenced you to death, and you have no opportunity even to know about, let
alone confront and address, his accusations; is
that not enough due process for you?"
- Glenn Greenwald

While
it will always be the case that there will be needs to act against real nasties
in fast ways, no matter who they are, it is another thing altogether to
enshrine a doctrine that some have called "state-sponsored
assassination". Killing an individual is the surest way to silence them.
We are putting enormous trust in the government to act virtuously,
basically trusting them with our lives and the lives of those we care about.
More to the point, we are putting trust not "in the government", but in
specific people who often make decisions in highly secretive ways
that are poorly subjected to "checks and balances". One of the main
ideas behind the Bill of Rights and the Constitution is that generally we
CANNOT trust people to wield such power over others.

The New Obama Math

Male + military-aged + blown up by US
drone = Dead Military Combatant. More slippery slope.

To
get a taste (bitter) of how this Orwellian process might go, consider the
redefinition of causalities in drone strikes:

Mr.
Obama embraced a disputed method for counting civilian casualties that did
little to box him in. It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike
zone as combatants, according to several administration officials, unless there
is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent. - "Secret Kill
List", NYTimes, May 29, 2012

Given
that the Kill Lists are all
Secret, and
everything I've mentioned above that makes all decisions of life and death
behind closed doors, without trials, and in the hands of a few, it's the final
straw that they are adding in "get out of jail free cards" to wash
their hands of the death (and torture, and wrongful imprisonment) of innocents.

And
the "posthumous exoneration" has got to be entered into whatever
official Orwellian dictionary there is. Stephen Colbert sums it up well:

"Now,
folks. Now this isn't just the president executing innocent people around the
world by fiat. There is an appeals process. The men are considered terrorist
unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent. In which
case, I assume there is a legal process that unkills them." Stephen
Colbert, Two Birds with One
Drone

Dangerous Synergy

For
me, it is the pattern, the working together, of all these different new laws
that is the most concerning.

Think
about this: it is
now legal/approved/justified for the government, or specific
branches of the government, to declare anyone (you!) an "enemy
combatant" (or whatever terminology is used), to do this WITHOUT trial or
due process, behind closed and secretive doors, authorize your
"extrajudicial" arrest/snatch/rendition based on this (even using the
power of the US military), throw you in a dungeon (or Guantanamo, or some other
hell hole anywhere in the world), and for as long as they want (no phone
call, no lawyer, no trial) where they can torture you. There is nothing you or
anyone else can do about it. Or, if it's their druthers, they can simply just murder
you with flying robots.

With
the recent clearance to start
using drones in America, the lines between operations abroad and at home could dissolve. While
there has been some
push back from Congress to limit drone use, it is unclear where all of this is going to end
up. The military is certainly pushing for unrestricted flights of drones in the
national air space, and given the powers granted to the military to act
secretly even in the US in the war on terror, the use of drones is a concern.

Are
robot missions to spy on and eliminate enemy combatant threats on American soil
a possible future? And will the determination of who those threats are and what
is to be done continue to be made secretly, without due process, with "baseball cards" in the Oval Office? And if
they screw up, if you and your family members are blown back to God, will all
of you (males at least!) simply be marked down for future generations as
"enemy combatants" anyway?

People are marching on Washington
complaining that the government is too big and powerful for requiring them to
pay into pension and medical trust funds. Funny - I'd rather give the
government the power to tax me and create a medical fund than to kill me
without trial with a robot if they don't like me.

Why
aren't people marching about the powers we are ceding to our (at present)
elected officials that allow them to label us, arrest and detain us
indefinitely without trial, and kill us if they decide to?

I
don't know about you, but the potential for horrific abuses in this loss of
rights is terribly disturbing. Is the price of "security" worth
it?

Google+ Badge

Here's BRH Feedback--Cool!

6/17 Just saw your review on Amazon and then visited your site. Holy Smoke! As usual, I was amazed at what a fabulous job you did, reviewing the book and adding in all that related material. I was particularly thrilled that you included the book trailer I put on Utube. You adding it to your review made me very happy. In fact, I had a big smile on my face the whole time I looked at what you'd done. I even listened to the violin concerto and watched the video of Dog Hill. Every year it gets harder and harder to bring a new book to the attention of potential readers. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have you as an ally in that endeavor. Thank you so much for all you do for me and for other writers. There's no-one else like you. And that's no exaggeration.With profound gratitude, I remain, Your Friend, Don

Thank you. Your commitment to your craft is wonderful. Whether it's one star or 5, your reviews are detailed, considerate, and most of all, beneficial to the prospective reader.

What an amazing presentation. Stellar. I never expected anything like that.

Do you have a separate link that I can share? I'd love to post this everywhere I can. You did such a fabulous job.cheers Connie

Thank you so much for your glowing review of my new book. Your review really highlighted all the things that I try to incorporate in my books - they're the very things I want as a reader. I'm nearly finished writing the next book in the series - Walker and Munoz are back, and interestingly as you referenced in your review, this time it's personal. Again, thank you.

I'd read your amazing review before I looked at my Facebook page and was blessed. Hitting the link you posted, I was surprised for few would have gone to so much trouble, fewer still know that Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske) was Sephardic and bequeathed a large amount of primary source information about the Sephardim to a university, which I was able to view online when corroborating Naomi's story. Your review stands as one of the highlights of this profoundly dyslectic authors’ life. Thank & bless you heart emoticon

I thought I'd reach out to you for your heartfelt review on my novel. It was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes that someone was so moved by my tale... That it resonated that deeply with someone. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone. Signed...

Wow, this is the most awesome blog post I've ever seen. Thank you for writing it! grin emoticon

I was thrilled with the details you offered in my review - like a literary movie trailer built on suspense and intrigue. I'm glad you're still reviewing books by aspiring authors like me. We need people like you! Keep up the good work and maintain that passion, Glenda!

Words fail me. Hi Glenda, I visited your review website today and was thrilled to see your marvelous features relating to Ms. Cramer's book. I passed them along to the author, and she is very excited and deeply grateful for your attention.

Your review of the book is wonderfully anecdotal and insightful, and it will be helpful I believe as an introduction to readers approaching Ms. Cramer's work for the first time. I found the opening of the review to be quite touching, with a wonderful sense of personal experience that I believe is all too often missing in critical review publication. In the context of the article, your remembrances from childhood add a truly beautiful layer to the photopoem you present.We're very impressed by what you put together using the press kit materials, and we will do our best to provide exposure for your features through our mailing list and other avenues.I do look forward to reading your articles in the future.We appreciate your considering our book and thank you very much for your fine and generous review coverage,

Saw the review and treatment of THE BLOOD BETRAYAL on your site. Once again, you've amazed me with what you do. Fantastic, fabulous… No, those words aren't good enough to describe your work and you.

I wrote up a short piece about what you did, directing people to your site from mine. That was really interesting and something I've never seen anyone do before. Great job, and I'm glad you enjoyed the novel.

Yo my truly heartfelt thank you for your very generous and kind review! I appreciate very much the time and effort you put into this review for me, and your so graciously posting it in multiple locations.

Your blogsite is extremely professional and well-done! What you posted for me there has completely blown me away!

Thank you again very much for such a comprehensive and thoroughly entertaining review. It's one of the best reviews I have received and I'm very proud to have it. Most Gratefully,

Glenda, You review blew my mind. When I listened to the songs you inserted, they brought tears to my eyes. You added a dimension to my work that was missing. In the attachment I have attempted to answer your question about anger. Thank you so much for your raving review. There are no words in the English language to express the gratitude I feel for you. I wish you a wonderful and blessed day.

I've been sitting in my chair for nearly fifteen minutes, stuck in an infinite loop of visual digestion and stunned amazement because of what you put together on your site for The Doppler Affect review. The time alone that you put into crafting the page is humbling, but the creativity and flair adds a layer I've never seen in reviews. Of course, the frosting of your very positive evaluation makes it the best cake I've eaten yet! I was also amazed at how you could step away from any biases due to your preferred genre and frame it for others...thank you. My newest book, Patriot's Point, will be released imminently. The publisher wants to know if I knew of any one in particular who has blogs or review sites that I would want to use. I immediately thought of you. Thanks, Doug

Glenda, I am truly in awe of your reviews and your review style. I have never seen anyone do a review as you can do one. I was entertained, informed, enlightened and amazed. There should be awards for creative, insightful and captivating reviews -- and you should be a recipient. Thanks for reviewing my book. And thanks for giving it an aura and image and feel that only your review could give it. I am very appreciative. All the best, Patrick

During the period of time that you requested my story, I also had other blog sites asking for the book as well. I had received three eviews prior to yours, and although I am very happy to report that all three were positive and enthusiastic, your entire presentation of the book, from the actual commentary to the ambitious visuals, blew me away and has left me emotionally weak-kneed in gratitude. I am extremely touched by all that you had to say and how you visually presented the concept of the book. Please note that I will place your website on the book's Facebook page which will hopefully bring your blog site more readership. Again, please know how grateful I am for your emotionally thrilling review. You have certainly made my day, Glenda! With much appreciation, Author/The Poe Consequence

I wanted to make sure I got a chance to properly thank you for posting the wonderful review of The Medici Boy! It was terrific, not just because you like the book (thank you) but because your analysis was thoughtful and honest. You put your heart into it, (Photos were out of this world) and you wrote like a friend would (we think that’s the very best kind of review). I appreciate your time and passion for literature! We’ve been promoting the site, since you went live, and we’re going to continue to promote your site on Social Media throughout the month. Senior Publicist Blue Dot Literary

Dear Glenda, I have to start this response with a BIG WOW! I have been very gratified with my experience as a new writer for both my books now and am working on a third. However, your review is like nothing I've ever seen, and I consider it a great piece of writing and creativity in itself. Thank you so very much for your kind words and treatment of Millstone. Once again, thank you for this review. I plan to pass it on in every venue available to me. My best wishes to you JackH

Thank you so much for your glowing review of my new book. Your review really highlighted all the things that I try to incorporate in my books - they're the very things I want as a reader. I'm nearly finished writing the next book in the series - Walker and Munoz are back, and interestingly as you referenced in your review, this time it's personal. Again, thank you.

I'd read your amazing review before I looked at my Facebook page and was blessed. Hitting the link you posted, I was surprised for few would have gone to so much trouble, fewer still know that Lauren Bacall (born Betty Joan Perske) was Sephardic and bequeathed a large amount of primary source information about the Sephardim to a university, which I was able to view online when corroborating Naomi's story. Your review stands as one of the highlights of this profoundly dyslectic authors’ life. Thank & bless you heart emoticon

I thought I'd reach out to you for your heartfelt review on my novel. It was beautiful and brought tears to my eyes that someone was so moved by my tale... That it resonated that deeply with someone. Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone. Signed...

JAFV I am stunned...

Wow, this is the most awesome blog post I've ever seen. Thank you for writing it! grin emoticon

I was thrilled with the details you offered in my review - like a literary movie trailer built on suspense and intrigue. I'm glad you're still reviewing books by aspiring authors like me. We need people like you! Keep up the good work and maintain that passion, Glenda!

Words fail me.

Hi Glenda, I visited your review website today and was thrilled to see your marvelous features relating to Ms. Cramer's book. I passed them along to the author, and she is very excited and deeply grateful for your attention.

Your review of the book is wonderfully anecdotal and insightful, and it will be helpful I believe as an introduction to readers approaching Ms. Cramer's work for the first time. I found the opening of the review to be quite touching, with a wonderful sense of personal experience that I believe is all too often missing in critical review publication. In the context of the article, your remembrances from childhood add a truly beautiful layer to the photopoem you present.We're very impressed by what you put together using the press kit materials, and we will do our best to provide exposure for your features through our mailing list and other avenues.I do look forward to reading your articles in the future.We appreciate your considering our book and thank you very much for your fine and generous review coverage,

Saw the review and treatment of THE BLOOD BETRAYAL on your site. Once again, you've amazed me with what you do. Fantastic, fabulous… No, those words aren't good enough to describe your work and you.

I wrote up a short piece about what you did, directing people to your site from mine. That was really interesting and something I've never seen anyone do before. Great job, and I'm glad you enjoyed the novel.

..my truly heartfelt thank you for your very generous and kind review! I appreciate very much the time and effort you put into this review for me, and your so graciously posting it in multiple locations.

Your blogsite is extremely professional and well-done! What you posted for me there has completely blown me away!

Thank you again very much for such a comprehensive and thoroughly entertaining review. It's one of the best reviews I have received and I'm very proud to have it. Most Gratefully,

You review blew my mind. When I listened to the songs you inserted, they brought tears to my eyes. You added a dimension to my work that was missing. In the attachment I have attempted to answer your question about anger. Thank you so much for your raving review. There are no words in the English language to express the gratitude I feel for you. I wish you a wonderful and blessed day. James Womack

WOW! What a beautiful post you did for ALMOST PERFECT ON YOUR I can’t imagine how much time you must have taken to create some thing so imaginative and special. I feel truly humbled and touched and quite unequal to saying how much it meant to me. A real present. You must be a very special person. I wish you were my neighbor and we could have a real chat over coffee. Maybe someday. But meanwhile know how wonderful your work made me feel and buoyed to keep on keeping on! Diane

I wanted to make sure I got a chance to properly thank you for posting the wonderful review of The Medici Boy! It was terrific, not just because you like the book (thank you) but because your analysis was thoughtful and honest. You put your heart into it, (Photos were out of this world) and you wrote like a friend would (we think that’s the very best kind of review). I appreciate your time and passion for literature! We’ve been promoting the site, since you went live, and we’re going to continue to promote your site on Social Media throughout the month. Senior Publicist Blue Dot Literary